Ex-slaying Suspect Gets Clemency

Cabinet Restores Rights Of Man Once Linked To Gainesville Killings

April 20, 1994|By JIM LEUSNER The Orlando Sentinel

Six weeks ago, Gov. Lawton Chiles was about to deny an application by former Gainesville student murders suspect Ed Humphrey when the Indialantic man and his attorney stood up to protest at a Cabinet meeting.

After reconsidering and researching the matter, Chiles and the Cabinet - sitting as Florida's clemency board - restored Humphrey's civil rights on Tuesday.

"I was surprised," Humphrey said. "When I went up there, I knew it was a long shot. I was hoping he would hear what I had to say."

"I'll make sure that when I'm able to vote this fall, Gov. Chiles gets my vote. He did the right thing."

In addition to being able to vote, Humphrey, 22, will be eligible for jury duty and to hold a professional license. He lost those rights, along with being allowed to legally possess a gun, after his 1990 conviction for the battery of his grandmother. Humphrey did not seek permission to possess a gun.

In 1990, Humphrey was considered a suspect in the stabbings of five college students in Gainesville, where he had attended school at the University of Florida.

Helping to push him to the top of the suspect list were his erratic behavior, which stemmed from manic depression the fact he had lived in one of the apartment complexes where two slayings occurred and bizarre statements he made to police.

In January 1991, Louisiana drifter Danny Rolling became the prime suspect after genetic tests linked him to the crime scenes. But it was not until two months ago - when Rolling entered a surprise guilty plea to the slayings - that prosecutors in Gainesville exonerated Humphrey.

By a 12-0 vote, an Alachua County jury recommended last month that Rolling die in Florida's electric chair. Judge Stan Morris is scheduled to sentence Rolling today in Gainesville.

Chiles said he was skeptical at first about Humphrey's request, which was initially denied last year because of Humphrey's previous emotional instability.

Humphrey, an honors student at Brevard Community College, said he hopes to obtain state licenses as an X-ray technician once he graduates.